From the monthly archives: May 2009
The latest issue of Houston Design Resources for 2009 features an interview with Imago Dei’s Jeremy Wells. The article, Art Revealed, explores the inspirations and references Jeremy uses to create his unique mixed media pieces. He has developed an innovative process using photography, software and various media executed in abstract or expressionist forms with organic references.
Here is the article text:
Wielding a palette derived from nature, Jeremy Wells, founder and contributing artist of Imago Dei, is creating innovative mixed media works. The world that Jeremy references in his art is not just the inspiration of creation itself, but also the inventions of man, the process of creativity and the interaction and juxtaposition of these elements.
He has developed an innovative process of combining his own digital photography, image editing software as well as a variety of media output including vinyl, canvas and paper. He then applies it directly to his painting surface, be it canvas or wood, and employs paints, mediums, textures and other media, peeling off layers to expose what color and texture lay underneath in a constant process of addition and subtraction, removal and regrowth, hiding and revealing.
Jeremy likens the acquisition of his source photography to “perceptual awareness,” the visual discoveries being the line, texture and composition of natural elements. Armed with high-caliber cameras, he seeks nature in vacant lots, street corners and abandoned developments, discovering the triumph of nature in an urban context. Jeremy comments that trees once “groomed to man’s ideal of artificial beauty, overcome their scars and become natural sculpture in and of themselves.” He strives to honor that perseverance of nature and “do it justice” on canvas. These new works are mixed media pieces with layers applied, peeled, painted back, sanded down, scratched into and painted again and again to achieve just the right texture and appearance. The strong organic lines of the original source imagery surviving to unify the composition.
“I may take a subtle, nuanced approach to develop an emotionally evocative painting, allowing nature’s form to determine the composition, or be totally abstract in expression.” His artistic inspirations range from travels in Italy to his native California and adopted Texas.
Q What defines your style?
A The moment. Painting to me has become about capturing the moment of creation within the canvas. It is a very lengthy process from the moment of conception of an idea to the completion of a piece. Once I have developed a concept to the point where I feel it is studio-ready it is very much like the final movement of a symphony where the entire piece and process come together to birth the meaning and purpose of each stroke of paint. Style is a byproduct of creation, so I try not to set out to create a particular style, but let creativity flow.
Q How does the inclusion of digital technology in your work contribute to timeless art rather than a hot trend?
A Artists have always used whatever technology they had available – be it charcoal for a brush and fire for light or the invention of photography to capture a scene for later reference – I am simply a small dot in an infinite line of creatives using the available technology of the day to scratch a creative itch. The work I create today will be meaningful in the future because I am attempting to use high-end production tools to create uncommon, fresh works of art that are still guided by the timeless laws of composition and color theory.
Imago Dei is a creative arts firm based in Houston, Texas with offices in Houston and Austin offering custom murals, decorative finishes, original fine art and archival giclée prints. For more information visit ImagoDeiHouston.com or JamieJeremyWells.com or call 713-466-9990.
Imago Dei has always included furniture and cabinetry in its repertoire of creative arts and recently completed numerous furniture and cabinetry pieces in a wide range of decorative styles. Antique and distressed looks are among the most popular. We have worked on new pieces to make them look 200 years old and reworked antique and vintage pieces to give them new life. Imago Dei works with custom furniture designers, as well as new stock and one-of-a-kind antiques. Many layers are applied to achieve the final effect, and may include milk paints, low VOC acrylic paints, gold leaf, distressing techniques, stains, glazes and sealers. Great care is taken to remove any fabric, hardware, glass, etc. before the work begins.
Attention to detail is a key aspect of achieving a professional antique look. Distressing is done in such a manner to replicate normal wear over centuries of use, for example, around keyholes and on corners. 
Part of the great satisfaction of our job is bringing a client’s vision to life. Recently a client had fallen in love with a particular antique armoire that was done in the late 18th century European style of decorative painting. However, the piece did not fit his room in scale or function. The client located a similar antique that still had it’s original plain wood finish, but which fit the scale and function perfectly. So, Imago Dei worked with the client and designer to research historically accurate furniture finishes and decorative painted features. Our artists carefully replicated the color, gilding, painted subjects, styles and glazes.
To complete the replica on the door fronts, an oval trompe l’oeil frame was created that surrounds two custom landscapes. The landscapes on the original antique were painted in a Delft Blue, but the clients preferred a sepia tone image to better flow with the color palette of their room design. The artist created custom scenes done in the Hudson River School of painting, popularized in the mid-19th century and in perfect harmony with the European style.
Decorative painting is generally considered to be the work of artists who adorn objects rather than surfaces. Imago Dei is proud to have artists who are multi-facted in their talents who are able to recreate works of past masters, but also create their own custom art for our clients. Often overlooked, custom finished furniture can be the final touch that completes a room’s style and authenticity.
In the middle of 19th century in Britain, furnishings had begun to be uniformly designed, so that they fit the rest of the interiors from floor to the ceiling. The Italian, French and English decorative styles before that time, heavy and substantial Baroque, gave way to a relaxed and eclectic interior in which furniture was lighter and Neo-classical in nature. The effects were seen in Portugal, Germany, Spain, Russia, Scandinavia and United States.
The Hudson River School was a mid-19th century American art movement influenced by romanticism, and created by landscape painters. Their paintings depicted the Hudson River Valley and the surrounding area, including the Catskill, Adirondack, and the White Mountains. This school of thought refers to a group of artists whose inspiration, production and style show consistency.While the paintings are realistic in manner, they are actually composites of different scenes or bits of nature as they were observed by the artists. The artists would travel to extreme destinations in order to observe nature in its purest form, therefore, they would be unable to paint in those conditions. So, they would sketch and makes notes in order to create the compositions later.
A fantastic new design resource is now available online. Imago Dei has just completed a 100-page catalog featuring our giclée prints. For designers, it is as simple as downloading the pdf file and printing only the pages you wish to show clients. Instead of bookmarking a bulky catalog, single pages can be presented to clients to form a cohesive, design-oriented presentation.
The art featured in this catalog is available exclusively through Imago Dei. The catalog will be updated as new pieces become available. Imago Dei prints these collectible, museum-quality prints in-house on their Epson 11880 using nine archival inks on canvas or paper. Members of the Imago Dei team have extensive training in digital image preparation and printing processes and techniques.
Canvas prints are available unstretched or with a ready-to-hang gallery wrap, which is the preferred choice. Paper prints on textured cold-press media are available matted. The catalog also features an easy to read pricing guide. Visit our on-line store to download the catalog now.
